Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 3
The Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 3, at $249.95, and the company’s flagship wireless earbuds, come in fifty bucks lower than the previous version, the Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 2 and with more technology. I did not hear those earbuds but am a fan of Sennheiser products. Here at Audiophilia, we’ve reviewed the IE 900 IEMs, the Momentum Wireless Headphones and the PXC 550 Wireless.
After I received the Sennheiser press release a couple of months ago, I was intrigued, first by the shape and mobility of the earbuds, but also by the active noise cancellation (ANC) and style. I asked the PR Agency, Hummingbird Media, for a set and was told the few press samples were already spoken for. Wonderful Shelby Coppola emailed me as soon as a new press batch was delivered. Thanks, Shelby and Hummingbird for shipping so quickly to the island.
Features, Specs and My Use
As usual with Sennheiser and as seen in the photos, the fit and finish of their products, even at this $249.95 level, is exceptional. Charles Brown discussed the mesmerizing quality of Sennheiser fit and finish in his IE 900 IEM Audiophilia review. The True Wireless 3 buds come in black, white and graphite. Mine are black.
My ear canals aren’t especially misshapen, so a medium or large tip works fine, manufacturer dependent. My Apple AirPods Pro ear tips also work fine and stay in for me. The 3s with medium tips attached fit straight out of the box. Sennheiser’s removable “silicone fins” help maintain in-ear stability and comfort and there are a variety of earbud adapters to ensure a perfect fit. My wife’s the runner in the family and she found the True Wireless 3s stayed in during a long pavement pound. Rain or shine, they’re cool and they are very comfortable. Long listening/writing sessions at my local Starbucks left my ears unfatigued. They have 7 hours of battery life and 28 hours of overall playtime. I recharged via QI wireless charging support (photo below).
The functionality of the free “Smart Control App” is excellent and is available on both iOS and Android (iOS screenshot below). A quick download and you’re up and running and ready to personalize your sound profile. The intuitive equalizer can make any number of audio adjustments and the ANC effects are adjusted to your taste and environment (“Next-generation Adaptive Noise Cancellation automatically adjusts the level of noise-cancelling when the noise level in your environment changes”). “Transparency Mode” is available at a touch.
Turning off ANC and/or Transparency Mode in a quiet environment does not alter the intrinsic sound of the Wireless 3s.
Voice calls sound very good via the three microphones per earbud and voice pick-up is high quality.
Included, you’ll get:
Silicone ear adapter sets (XS, S, M, L)
Ear fin sets (S/M/L)
Charging case
Quick guide & safety guide
Before the firmware download, I could not get sound after the buds were connected. After a successful update, which took a couple of attempts, the pairing was effortless and has remained consistent.
Frequency response (speaker): 5 Hz to 21 kHz
Transducer principle: dynamic, closed-back
Transducer size; 7 mm, TrueResponse™
Sound pressure level (SPL): 107 dB SPL (1 kHz / 1 mW)
Total harmonic distortion (THD): <0.08% (1 kHz / 94 dB SPL)
Frequency response (microphone): 100 Hz to 10 kHz
Battery supply: built-in Lithium-Ion rechargeable batteries
Battery supply (earbuds):77 mAh
Battery supply (charging case): 850-950 mAh
Charging port: USB charging via USB-C socket of the charging case
Operating time (charging case): 28 hrs
Charging time: approx. 1.5 hrs for a full charge, after 10 min charging 1 hrs music playtime
Bluetooth version: Bluetooth 5.2 compliant, class 1, 10 mW (max)
Bluetooth profiles: A2DP, AVRCP, HFP
Bluetooth Audio Codec: SBC, AAC, aptX™, aptX adaptive™
Bluetooth output power: 10 mW (max)
Weight (earbuds): 5.8 g
Weight (charging case): 66.4 g
I think they look especially cool in white.
Sound
The big news at the start is these are the best wireless earbuds I have tested. Certainly, the most comfortable with superb ANC—they give you the feeling you are wearing over-ear earpads filled with fuzzy, expensive sheepskin. Very comfortable, and a minute in you’ll be focussing solely on the music playing and shaking your head at the high-quality sound offered by Sennheiser for a very reasonable cost. A fine achievement by the German manufacturer.
It’s like wine. Sure, a Joseph Phelps Insignia at $300 should be a fantastic wine and is. Like Charles’ IE 900s at $1299, they better be the best “in-ear monitors” around. But the trick is to get a superb, inexpensive “daily sipper” wine. They are rare and once found, gone from the shelves quickly. Charles pointed me to a Côtes du Rhône red for 11 bucks (Les Figues) in Toronto. It was incredibly good for the price—balanced, great nose, strong finish. Big mouth me tweeted about it. All 64 cases were gone from the LCBO (Ontario’s provincial wine seller) within a day. Charles scarfed 10 cases! The Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 3s are akin to Les Figues. $250 bucks will get you into superb mobile audiophile sound, and well above Apple performance.
When listening to my ultra-long Bill Evans playlist on Apple Music, the MOMENTUMs exhibited far fewer artifacts and idiosyncrasies than my AirPods Pro. Timbrally, the 3s are very faithful; I could hear Scott LaFaro’s unique bass sound and “twang” and Bill’s gorgeous touch with Marty Morell’s “listening drums” dead centre. A beautiful, intimate experience.
This led me to experiment with the excellent equalizer. YMMV, but for me, I cranked the bass and left the treble and mids neutral. This gave me my preferred balance without “Beatsifying” the sound. Interestingly, “Bass Boost” a special EQ preset for more intense bass gave me the opposite effect. Experiment and have fun ’till you find your sweet spot.
I know, it looks completely funky. But it worked perfectly for me and my preferred repertoire. In this setting, the bass was in balance, rich and defined. And with weight.
And the setting worked for all repertoires—electronica, classical and jazz were all balanced and with a pretty well perfect foundation. Be careful of the treble. A boost from neutral may be too much of a good thing. But my setting sounded wonderful on Michelangeli’s seminal DG set of Debussy’s piano Préludes—Book 1, specifically the final bar of “V: Les collines d’Anacapri” where Debussy explores magically the highest range of the keyboard (ff pedal) with its diminuendo/decay lasting seemingly for hours. The beautiful scrutiny was exceptional.
Summary
Another star-worthy product from the German manufacturer. If you’ve read Audiophilia for a while, you know I’m not a “headphone guy”. We have several young guns on staff who love them. Of course, I give all a fair shake for the benefit of our readers. As such, you can buy these fantastic earbuds with confidence. They play well above their MSRP and have lots of cool tech to boot. Very highly recommended.
Further information: Sennheiser
As the review was put to bed, I flew across the country to spend time with my granddaughter. And while the ANC worked very well at home, at Starbucks, and outside, nothing prepared me for the superb functionality of both Transparency mode and ANC sitting between two howling jet engines. By far the best I’ve experienced, better than my AirPods Pro, my wife’s Master & Dynamic and the last iteration of over-the-ear Bose. You know, the “benchmark”.
That they sound so musical and wonderful, is the icing. The TW3 is so much better than it had a right to be and blew away my expectations. Bravo, Sennheiser.
